The weekend blogging tradition that is my ‘Saturday Night Retro’ CONTINUES into its 22ND month of memories. And the hits just keep on comin’ !
24 years ago this weekend on the 28TH of June of 1986 (a Saturday) a young and crazy 19-year-old version of me was among over 75,000 rambunctious fans in attendance at London England’s historic (and original) Wembley Stadium. It was an unusually hot and sticky day in London Town, and what made it even more sweatier was the fact that over 75,000 of us were dancing and screaming in unison to all of the stars that were performing all of the hits during the all-day final farewell concert of the pop supergroup Wham ! (George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley and friends). I didn’t realize how much energy I actually had in myself until that jumpin’ and jivin’ day. It was the very first concert of my entire life, and it turned out to be the first of 17 concerts in all during the remainder of my wonderful life in the U.K. 24 years later I look fondly back at that memorable event as the moment that I finally arrived on the British scene.
Here’s the farewell worldwide smash from Wham ! – “The Edge Of Heaven”:
PREFACE:
It’s the dawn of a brand new weekly series here on my personal web log. Following in the storied tradition of the surprisingly successful and long-running ‘Friday Night Blogroll Review’ (81 editions) and ‘The Major’s Friday Night Disco Party’ (36 editions) I proudly present to you my newest creation – the sensational summer series debut of ‘The Major’s Weekend Blast-Off’. This fresh new weekly series brings blogging back to Fridays – where it belongs. It also serves as the de facto replacement series for two now defunct weekly series – ‘Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’ and ‘Thursday Night Mini Thoughts’. I’ve ended the run of both series after a combined 200+ weekly editions dating back to this blog’s infancy in 2007.
THE FORTUNE COOKIE MESSAGE OF THE WEEK CLUB:
“The best angle from which to approach any problem is the TRYangle.”
BEST LUNCH OF THE WEEK AWARD: Red Lobster – Caesar Salad, Cheddar Bay Biscuits (4 of them), Wood-Fire Grilled Grouper, Mashed Potatoes, Fresh Broccoli, Sprite
15 WEEKEND MINI THOUGHTS: – It may be Friday night, but it’s NOT the end of the work week for me.
– I actually have to work tomorrow for much of the day.
– I took the morning off today, and I got my car serviced at Firestone.
– They did the oil and filter change, tire rotation, wheel alignment, and A.C.
– I was in and out in just about two hours flat.
– After that I ventured up to Target in the Cutler Bay area.
– I went on a spontaneous shopping spree.
– Target is my favourite place to buy clothes.
– Tomorrow is actually the 7TH anniversary of the purchase of my current car.
– It’s my 2ND longest-owned car.
– I drove a 1989 Geo Spectrum for over 8 years before I bought my first Saturn.
– Next weekend I’ll be hanging out in Texas with my family.
– That’s become an annual 4TH Of July Weekend tradition.
– I’ll be prepping for 100°F heat next weekend.
– But it’s a dry heat (compared to South Florida anyway).
BLATANT PROMOTION:
TOMORROW on the ‘Retro’ I’ll be remembering the first rock concert that I ever attended in my life. It was exactly 24 years ago this weekend in London England. Coming up in 5 weeks on the ‘Retro’ it’s the ‘Awesome ’80s In August HI-NRG Dance Party’ – a month-long celebration of the decade that was. Be sure not to miss that my friends. You won’t regret it pal !
In Ephesians – Chapter 4 – Verses 7 to 16 – The Bible Says:
7 However, He has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say, “When He ascended to the heights, He led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to His people.” 9 Notice that it says “He ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. 10 And the same One who descended is the One who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that He might fill the entire universe with Himself. 11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of His body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Those apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers – that’s us within God’s church family – each and every one of us who believes and trusts in Him.
Very early on during the first year of my fantastic journey one of the new Pastors within my church family called me out during one of his first Sunday morning teachings. The man stood up there on the stage right in the middle of his message that morning, and he boldly exclaimed these 7 words in front of everyone, “Chris Day – YOU’RE a Disciple of Christ !” A series of chills – sent from up above – totally consumed my body. That was instantly one of the most groundbreaking moments of my fantastic journey. That’s when it all really made sense to me as a born again Christian. From that point forward I realized that I had a real role – an urgent purpose – a definite mission on this journey.
Those gifts that God gave to us – those are our special talents. We all have them whether we accept them as legitimate or not. We should indeed use them to benefit and progress the Kingdom of Christ – our Creator – our Provider. If our skill is in speaking then we should speak up for Christ. If our skill is in writing then we should write to the world. If we know that we have that special skill – that gift from God – then we should use it, for if we don’t do so then we are essentially aiding the enemy that lurks in the nearby darkness. Don’t be that weak link within God’s Kingdom. Be alive ! Disciple to the world as you walk.
‘Cause after all man’s intellect and power
All you get is 650,000 hours
If you’re lucky then you’re dead
Says the voice inside my head
Keeps me moving on
Keeps me singing these songs
My first ever trip to New England this past week reminded me of some of the fun times that I enjoyed as a kid growing up in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs surrounding Washington D.C. That vibe – that feeling – that weather this past week up in Western Massachusetts – or as the natives refer to it – ‘West Mass’. It reminded me of a simpler time from an era not so long forgotten. It was a long time ago, but the vivid memories are still there for me to cherish in their own special way. We spent several Summers for a few days or a week at a time over at the popular seaside resort of Ocean City Maryland. I remember the sights of the town, the smells of the sea, and the tastes of the food permeating all up and down the boardwalk. I haven’t been there in about 30 years, but I think that I will check out the place sometime soon on a future vacation. I can easily spend a bunch of days and nights having a lot of fun along that three-mile stretch of boardwalk, so what am I waiting for ?
Here’s a cool tune from that fun era that’s all about a sun-drenched seaside place such as Ocean City Maryland. Musician Jay Ferguson fondly looks back at his “Thunder Island”. He recorded the track right here in our own seaside resort of Miami Florida back in 1977. Enjoy the ‘Retro’ !
CountUp 